It's been a long time since I have posted anything. So here is my dilemma at the moment. Currently I am looking at both of these mounts with DA drives. I will be mounting a Celestron C5 and a Sony NEX camera so it's not a heavy setup. My question is which one of these mounts will provide better tracking etc. I have no problem with DIY projects so if there is something that could be do clean up the gears on one that would be make it far superior to other then I'll go that way....

Without question you want the SVP mount. It is in the same class as the CG-5. I've owned a SVP mount and it was a fine mount. I also rebuilt it and adjusted gear mesh using CG5 tuning instructions I found somewhere. I also modified my dual axis controller with a st4 guide port and used PHD to guide it. Internally they are similar. With your C5 it should be rock solid. It should be able to handle up to a C8.

The CG-4 would be perfectly acceptable for your load requirements.It's a bit lighter to tote around and about a hundred bucks cheaper as well. If you want something sturdier for future setups, you might as well go for a gently used CG-5. They have heavier duty steel legs than the Skyview and CG-4, and lots of then should be coming available with the new VX replacement coming on the scene.

I doubt that long exposure photography is feasible without autoguiding. That takes a GoTo mount. I have an old, non-GoTo Skyview Pro which is fine for visual observing. My setup for learning astrophotography is a Canon 350D with a 300 mm zoom on that mount. So far, after careful polar alignment, my longest exposure without visibly deformed stars has been only 90 seconds.

At Orion, the price for a GoTo version of the SkyView Pro is $850. OPT will sell you a VX for $799 or a CG-5GT for $659. That makes the VX a better deal than the SVP and the CG-5GT a real bargain.

FYI, you can upgrade the hand controller of the non-Goto SVP with a ST4 kit from Shoestring Astronomy and use the GPUSB for guiding. This was my first imaging rig and it worked well. I highly recommend it if you already have the mount and want to guide. I was guiding out to 5 minutes with ease on a 6 inch scope. http://www.store.sho...products_gp.htm